The Tale of Callathain
by Goldsaddletank
Summary: With Luke finally exonerated, Thomas can now rest and carry on with life on Sodor... except, he gets lost one dark night whilst on a run, and meets an unusual engine in an unknown location... and now, our No. 1 must fight for survival, meeting new friends along the way, as well as testing the loyalty and mettle of his old friends...
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey, guys! I just want to say that I may have made the mistake of deleting the original version of this story... but, don't worry, I'm working to make it bigger and better than ever!

To start with, I included a prologue. I love these but I've not used them a lot, so please bear with me. :) I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think- I'd love feedback!

Goldsaddletank

…..

Smudger winced as he felt his frames jolt and shake following yet another bump in the road. "Hey, watch it, will ya! You've a delicate load back here!" He snapped churlishly.

But the lorry remained silent, with the whirring and whining of its engine being the only indication of any life whatsoever; which only increased Smudger's nerves, and he became very aware of his wheels shaking from fright, despite already experiencing rocking and swaying motions caused by the lorry.

"Say, where are you taking me anyway?" He asked, hoping his transport couldn't pick up his fear. "And who the Deighan are you?"

But, once again, he received no reply.

Smudger shivered as he surveyed his surroundings; or lack, thereof. All he could see around him right now was deep, rich black; almost as though the great and horrifyingly powerful Cthulhu himself had arisen from the waves and sprayed the entire Island with black ink.

The only illumination Smudger received was from the lorry's headlights ahead of him; and he could only see the tar, and the bushes and weeds growing beside it, stretching across the line as though they were fingers ready to grab the lorry's wheels.

This all told Smudger very little about where he was, or where he was going. The only consolation was that he knew he hadn't left Sodor- that would have been way worse than the lorry, knowing his luck.

As the lorry continued on its way, the little green engine recalled with dismay that it was at least an hour and a half ago when he willingly surrendered himself to Mr. Farquhar-Barston; to be led into an unknown fate, like a lamb bound for the slaughterhouse.

Well, it was still better him than Luke, he decided bravely. He hoped his Irish friend and rescuer would be safe in the mountains; after all, the last time Smudger had seen Luke was when his friend attempted suicide by trying to drown himself in the Skarloey Lake. Smudger himself had heard the news when sneaking out of cover to try and find him; before he ran into Jessica the Tractor, who told him the terrible news and requested his assistance in getting him out of the lake.

Now, here he was; alone, scared, unable to sleep or think properly; and secured to the back of a lorry who had said or done nothing to prove himself- or herself- to be friend or foe.

The little engine bit his lip as he watched black roll by, listening to the lorry's humming and whining. He couldn't sleep, so he just sat there, trying to think of something, anything, to keep his mind off how petrified he was right now.

….

Smudger was suddenly startled out of his thoughts when he felt the lorry come to a sudden halt; right in the middle of nowhere, it seemed. All he could see was a stone wall to the left of him; illuminated by dim headlights.

He jumped as he heard a door slam shut- to be honest, he didn't even hear it open- before a nasal voice whined, "We're here."

"Oh good, I thought we just ran out of petrol," Smudger answered irascibly, probably earning a glare and a rude gesture from the driver; which he ignored, namely cos it was too dark to see anything of value.

But inside his cab, his firebox was fluttering.

….

Smudger was unloaded from the lorry and onto some narrow- gauge tracks surprisingly quickly. "Well, I gotta hand it to ya, guys; didn't expect my service to be so prompt." He commented, with his characteristic snark, his eyes darting round what he presumed to be a yard.

"Good evening, mon ami. How nice to have caught you. I feared I missed you." A familiar voice greeted silkily.

Smudger gulped.

"H-hello."

"Come now, no need to be nervous, I don't bite." Crooned the voice of Winston Otto Farquhar Barston.

Instantly, Smudger felt his fear melt to anger; if there was one thing he hated above all else, it was being patronized; especially by someone who had told him scarce little about his new job, or his new home.

"Listen, pal, I want to know where on Sodor you dragged me to!" the Fletcher-Jennings tank engine hissed furiously, regretting not having any steam to wheesh at him with.

But the businessman, if that was what he actually was, was unfazed by Smudger's angry reaction. "Why, my dear engine, you are in Callathain Goods Yard; my place of business, if you will." He said slyly.

'What the blazes does he mean by that?' thought Smudger curiously. But dismissing his curiosity for the moment, he continued, "And where, exactly, is that?"

"Ah, ah, all in good time, mon ami." Farquhar- Barston replied, in a tone that a parent might use on an impatient and excited child in a candy store. "I merely hope to get you, ah, settled in, if you will, before I discuss things with you in more detail."

Smudger didn't like the sound of the man's voice at all and he cursed himself for his trademark stupidity. Honestly, Luke should have left him in the shed; he clearly grew more moss and rust than he had common sense.

Why didn't he listen to Victor?

Oh, wait; he didn't know. But he did know that it was his- appallingly poor- habit of not listening to anyone besides himself that kept getting him into trouble; and ruining his enjoyment of life.

"To start you off," continued his new owner, "I thought we could proceed with introductions."

"Why? Forgotten my name already?" Asked Smudger sarcastically.

This earned him a quirked eyebrow, and a frown. "The first rule I will teach you right now is that I will not tolerate any backtalk of any nature; otherwise, I shall terminate my exercising of leniency. Is that clear?"

"… yes, sir," Conceded the little green engine through gritted teeth, after thinking about little Luke, cradled away in the mountains, needing to be kept hidden from the cruel world.

He had never wanted to suffer imprisonment again; but he will do so, if it would keep Luke on Sodor.

"That's a good engine." Said Farquhar-Barston, sternly, not really meaning what he had said at all. "Now, I shall introduce you to your new shed-mates. I want no arguing."

Smudger remained silent; which Farquhar-Barston took as compliance.

"Good. Now… meet your new 'bunker buddies'." He chuckled wryly at his pun, whilst Smudger nearly yelped with fright as three pairs of ghostly, haunted eyes blinked at him in the dark.

"Smudger, I want you to meet… Marcail, Igor and Melody."


	2. Last Jobs of the Day

For nearly three days straight, James and Gordon had argued upon returning to Tidmouth Sheds. It was a concern for the other engines, as they didn't know what to do.

Rebecca had tried to sweetly intervene with Gordon, and Nia and Emily tried to reason with James; Percy tried to remind them why they were friends in the hope they would stop arguing; and Thomas was sick of it all already.

He missed having his oldest brother Edward in the shed; ever since he had moved to Wellsworth, chaos reigned in the Shed almost every night. Nia tried her best to keep everyone in order; but it just wasn't the same anymore.

And Toby was gone too. Thomas wondered why on Earth Toby had been sent away, and he made a note to ask the Fat Controller on this later.

….

That night, he was relieved to find it was just Percy and Rebecca in Tidmouth. He liked being with his friends; it was just nice to have a bit of peace and quiet before the rowdiness began!

"Good evening Rebecca. Evening Percy," he peeped politely, making his way towards the timetable.

"Hello, Thomas!" Chorused Rebecca and Percy in greeting. Thomas selected a berth next to his best friend and backed into it, sighing with relief at the thought of rest after a hard day's work. It was a good day too though, he couldn't complain.

"So how was your day, Thomas?" Asked Rebecca politely. Thomas was still excited over his good day to notice that his friend wore a sad smile on her face.

"Oh, it was great, Rebecca! We had all our trains- goods and passengers- running on time, with no mishaps!" He chuckled gleefully. "It's few and far between we get by a week without some mishap or another, but we managed this week! And Percy and I met some old friends of ours; and I even introduced Charlie to Nia!"

"That's a surprise," Commented Rebecca. "I met Charlie once; and he's really sweet, just a bit, erm…"

"I know, he's not always work-focused." Thomas finished for her. "But I think Nia might be able to help him with that- and they enjoy a good laugh, so they'll have a lot of fun working together!"

"That'd be good," Said Percy.

"Yep," Agreed Thomas. "And how was your day, Rebecca?" He asked her politely.

"Oh, um, it was ok, thanks for asking, Thomas." Rebecca replied quietly, suddenly looking away from her two little friends.

Thomas was confused; he could now tell something was up, but he didn't know what that was.

"Gordon and Rebecca fell out today," Percy whispered to his best friend. This both explained everything, and yet nothing, to Thomas.

"I took an Express train, as ordered by the Knapford stationmaster." Rebecca continued, before the little blue engine could ask, "I was just getting ready to leave with the train when Gordon came in, looking flustered and confused. He asked me what I was doing. I told him I was just following orders, and I left. When I came back, we tried to talk about it; but we quarrelled instead." She sighed sadly.

"Hm," Mused Thomas thoughtfully.

"I'm sure you and Gordon will work things out again, Rebecca!" Peeped Percy, loyally. "It was only just a misunderstanding, after all."

"Yes, I… I guess it was," said Rebecca. "I do hope"-

But before she could continue, she was interrupted by Gordon and James entering the yard.

"-I'm just saying that there's no reason for you to blow up at her, Gordon!" Said James.

"She took my Express train and swanned off with little more explanation than 'following orders!'" Gordon boomed in reply.

Poor Rebecca flushed scarlet, and Thomas, irritated, immediately said, "I think this is what people call "airing your dirty laundry in public.'"

Gordon sputtered indignantly at his little brother's remark. "Whatever you have to say on the matter, Thomas, pales in comparison to the fact that Rebecca has taken my Express train! When I was coming to collect it!"

"Please, Gordon, I don't know what's going on!" Rebecca pleaded. "You know I wouldn't take your trains unless"-

"Nevertheless, this is most frightfully inconvenient." Gordon cut off, "This better not happen again."

"Gordon, James, enough." Thomas said warningly, glaring at his older brother and at his boyfriend.

"Alright," Sighed the two engines, and they both dropped the subject for the time being; though Gordon still shot a nasty glare at Rebecca.

…

"Ah, Thomas, there you are!" A familiar voice boomed across the shed, and the engines jumped.

"Good evening, sir." Thomas said politely. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Thomas. I have an important job for you- you are to go down to Brendam Docks and collect some diesel fuel and some coal and deliver it to the Depot for Mr. Percival's engines. Peter Sam will be waiting for you there for your cargo. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Thomas replied with a broad grin; despite his concern for Rebecca and Gordon.

"Good. Now, hurry along."

"Yes sir!"

"Percy, you have your mail run to take. The rest of you are relieved for the day. Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight sir!" The engines chorused.

Poor Rebecca gulped as she realised that she would be left with Gordon and James until Nia returned. She hoped her best friend wouldn't be forever.

"Don't worry, Rebecca," Whispered Thomas, "I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Nia should be back in ten minutes or so."

"Ok, thanks Thomas," she whispered back. "Be careful, ok?"

"I will," he promised. And with that, he set off into the night, Percy following close behind, getting ready to do their last jobs of the day.


End file.
